


Seems so Fitting

by the_problem_with_stardust



Series: Walking the Long Road [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College Student Stiles, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Misunderstandings, POV Outsider, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 08:08:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11847462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_problem_with_stardust/pseuds/the_problem_with_stardust
Summary: Stiles goes away to college. (Can be read as a stand-alone)





	Seems so Fitting

**Author's Note:**

> General disclaimer: I don’t own anything, but please, please, please don’t post my work anywhere without my permission.

Move-in day was one of the biggest days for a new college student and thanks to a flat tire and no phone service, Riley had missed it. Rationally, he knew that being one day late wouldn't have much impact on anything, but he couldn't help but feel that he was starting out behind all of the other freshmen.

Finding parking on campus near his dorm turned out to be impossible. So he parked his junker of a car and grabbed his backpack and hamper. After years of summer camps, he'd learned that less stuff was always better. This mentality proved correct as he hauled his belongings half a mile across campus and up three flights of stairs.

His roommate, whose name was basically a keyboard smash, was already in for the night. He immediately threw his phone down and jumped up to open the door the rest of the way.

“Hey, man. You must be Riley. Our RA said you were going to be running a little late.”

Riley stared at the guy, unprepared for so many words at once. “Um…”

The guy smacked a hand to his head. “Right, of course. I'm Stiles. You probably got the monstrosity that is my actual name.”

Riley stared, then remembered his manners. “It's nice to meet you?”

Stiles grinned and flopped back down on his mattress. He had clearly claimed one side of the room and the wall above his headboard was a massive collage of pictures.

“Okay, so. Things that you missed.” Stiles pulled out a folder filled with flyers. “There was a department meet and greet type thing where you could talk to students in the programs you're interested in, and a picnic down on the quad that was actually pretty good, and then some weird school spirit thing where we learned the fight song.”

Riley sank onto the opposite bed. He'd only known Stiles for ten minutes and he was already exhausted.

The phone on top of Stiles’ pillow started ringing. He looked at the caller id and gave him an apologetic smile. “I gotta take this.”

He was out of the room before Riley could even nod in acknowledgment. But before the door slammed shut behind him, Riley made out a quiet “Hey, babe.”

By the time Stiles came back, Riley had unpacked all of his clothes into the empty dresser drawers and made his bed. His only personal touch, a geological map of Minnesota, was hung above his headboard with sticky tack.

Stiles stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned in for a better look. “Are you from Minnesota?”

Riley nodded, eager to have something he could talk about. “Yeah, I thought I left early enough to make it by move-in day, but I got a flat tire in Utah.”

Stiles groaned sympathetically. “That sucks, dude. How long did it take for someone to stop?”

“Almost four hours.” And Utah in August was hot as balls.

“Well, at least you made it.”

\---

It took a week for Riley to figure out that Stiles’ girlfriend was actually his boyfriend, Derek. He wasn't sure which of the guys he was from Stiles’ pictures. Maybe the cute one with the floppy brown hair, or the tall blond one with cheekbones that could cut glass.

Whoever it was talked on the phone for hours every single night. And if that wasn't clingy enough, Stiles went home every Thursday afternoon and didn't come back until Monday morning. Riley almost felt bad for the guy. He was really missing out on the college experience.

About halfway through the fall semester, Stiles had a huge project due. After several lengthy phone calls, he must've come to the conclusion that it didn't make sense to drive all the way home for the weekend. Riley had a terrible grasp on Californian geography, but he assumed Beacon Hills was pretty far.

Friday night rolled around and Stiles was still buried. It looked like he hadn't moved since the night before. Riley sighed and resigned himself to skipping the party down on frat row in favor of staging an intervention.

“Hey bro.”

Stiles didn't even look up from his computer. That meant more invasive tactics were required. Riley grabbed the back of his chair and dragged it away from the desk. With an undignified squawk, Stiles fell to the floor.

Taking stock of the darkening room and the time flashing red on his alarm clock, he sighed. “I guess I missed dinner?”

Riley snorted. “Yeah, but only by about three hours.”

Stiles groaned and ran a hand through his hair before getting to his feet. “You want to come with?”

Riley was never one to turn down an opportunity to get food, so he followed Stiles out to the familiar blue jeep parked behind the dorms. They went to one of the diners nearby that Stiles swore served the best curly fries on the planet. Riley believed him because it definitely sounded like he'd made it his life's mission to try them all.

Stiles was well into a story about a guy named Scott and his misadventures in lacrosse when Riley noticed the man standing by the door. He looked like a serial killer, with his leather jacket and heavy stubble. What was worse was the fact that his eyes were fixed on their table.

“Bro.” He interrupted, “We've got a problem.”

Stiles glanced up from his food and followed Riley’s subtle chin jerk. Instead of looking alarmed, he dropped his burger and launched himself out of his seat.

“Derek!”

Tall, dark, and broody looked remarkably less like a serial killer when he was smiling softly at Stiles, who was trying to squeeze him to death. Riley couldn't help but stare. Damn, Stilinski had game.

After a moment, Derek untangled himself from his boyfriend. Stiles dragged him back to the table, grinning brightly.

“Derek, meet my roommate, Riley.”

Riley held out his hand for Derek to shake.

“And Riley, this is my husband, Derek.”

“Wait.” It took a moment for the words to compute. And when they did, they still didn't make sense. “You're married?”

Stiles looked confused. “Yeah. Did I forget to mention that?”

And now Riley noticed the shiny band that Stiles always wore. How had he missed that? Plus Stiles talked about his boyfriend - no, husband - almost constantly.

Derek was watching the whole exchange with an arm over Stiles’ shoulder and an amused expression on his face. Riley caught his gaze and Derek quirked an eyebrow. For some reason that set Riley off and then all three of them were cracking up in an old diner at ten pm. It was ridiculous.

When Stiles finally calmed down, he asked, “Did you seriously not know?”

Riley shrugged. “Everything makes so much more sense now.”

Derek just shook his head. “Welcome to life with Stiles.”

The look on his face was so fond that Riley felt like he was intruding. He hastily got to his feet and gathered up his trash. “It was super nice to meet you Derek. And, um, you guys can have the room tonight.”

Stiles took Derek’s hand and smiled. “Thanks, man. Sorry for keeping you from your party.”

As he left the diner, Riley took one last look at the couple. Stiles looked happier than he'd ever seen. Maybe the college experience didn't matter when you had that kind of love.

With that in mind, Riley went to go get smashed on frat row.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hello on [tumblr!](https://theproblemwithstardust.tumblr.com)


End file.
